No place like home
by Lolathe17th
Summary: Back when Brittany was single, she enlisted in the army came back from her tour injured. Years later she finds out she has to go back for a year, but things are very different now...


A/N: just a quick one-shot. I hope you guys enjoy!

Reviews are appreciated!

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That Tuesday morning Brittany's heart dropped deep down into her stomach when she got the mail. She was unexpectedly met by an all too familiar seal. She opened the letter right there on their driveway, not wanting Santana to see it yet.

When she got done reading, she let out a deep sigh. She had really really really hoped she would never be in this situation. When Brittany had enlisted, she had been single, and after her parents had broken off all contact when she had come out to them, she hadn't really felt like she was leaving all that much behind.

But things were so different now. When she had come back from Afghanistan, she had been hospitalized for months, and soon she had met the love of her life. Santana had been assigned as her regular nurse, and the hours they spent together had soon led to feelings that were deemed inappropriate between a patient and hospital personnel.

The hospital had been ablaze with rumors, and Santana had eventually quit her job. A couple weeks later Brittany had been released from the hospital, and nothing had stopped them from starting a life together. They had moved to San Francisco where Santana had found a new job and Brittany had started working as a mechanic. Cars and bikes had always been a passion of hers. An added bonus was that Santana loved her as a little grease monkey.

After about a year and a half Brittany had proposed. Their new friends and Santana's family who had flown in were there to attend their small ceremony. Santana's dad had walked her down the aisle, looking like an absolute goddess, and although Brittany had felt a pang of sorrow because her own dad wasn't there, her thoughts had mostly been consumed by how lucky she was to marry Santana.

Two years later they were ready for the next step. A baby. Brittany knew Santana wanted to carry, even though she wouldn't explicitly say it, and Brittany couldn't wait to see Santana's growing belly. They chose a blonde, blue-eyed donor who had served in the army, because although Britt had definitely moved on from that era, she still felt proud of what she had done for her country. They got it right on the third try, and although Santana heavily suffered from morning sickness for almost four months, they both enjoyed the pregnancy a lot, getting everything ready for their soon to be born little boy.

When little Henry was born, he had blue eyes. Santana told her that many babies were born with blue eyes, and that the color could still change. But Henry's eyes stayed as blue as they were on his first day on earth. They made for a beautiful contrast with his dark hair and skin.

Two years later, they were ready for another baby. Brittany now mainly ran the garage she worked at, while Santana had cut back her hours and worked half-time. Having loved the way things had worked out previously, they quickly agreed that Santana would be carrying again. Britt had never found Santana more beautiful than during her pregnancy, and she couldn't really picture herself carrying a baby anyways. She loved how physical her job was, and she didn't really want to give that up.

However, Santana insisted that this time she would have Brittany's egg implanted in her. They chose a donor who was one-fourth Hispanic. Santana said she wanted the baby to look like Brittany, and if they chose a Hispanic donor, those features would overrule Brittany's. Brittany however wanted the baby to have a little bit of Santana in it too, so they compromised.

It took them a little longer this time, but a little under a year later, Santana was pregnant.

The Tuesday morning she got called up for another tour of duty Santana was two months pregnant. Brittany hadn't thought about the army in a long time. Scatterbrained as she still tended to be, it had slipped her mind that her number could be called again. She had also never really mentioned this to Santana.

The thought of leaving her wife, her son and their unborn baby behind devastated Brittany, but when she finally got the courage to tell Santana, her wife's reaction was nothing she could have prepared for. After a long Spanish rant that left Henry wide-eyed and scared, she had left the house, slamming the door and leaving her cell phone behind. She got in her car and drove away. Brittany was terrified of what she would do in her reckless state, fearing both for her and the baby.

She didn't come back till the next morning. Brittany had spent the evening with Henry, desperately trying to keep it together until the boy had fallen asleep. As soon as she left his room, she burst into tears, and cried herself to sleep.

She had never felt as relieved as the following morning, when Santana walked through the front door, obviously unharmed. Santana apologized profusely for disappearing, but soon started crying at the thought of her wife leaving her. Brittany did the best she could to comfort her, assuring her that she would be careful.

When she had to say goodbye to her family two weeks later, she was sure she would never live a bleaker moment in her life. Henry clutched to her, crying pitifully. He barely understood what was going on, but he knew he wasn't going to see his mommy for a very long time. Eventually Santana's mom, who had flown in to help Santana through the first few weeks, took him inside, leaving the couple to their selves. After a dozen tearful kisses to Santana's belly, she gave her wife one last firm kiss on the mouth, squeezed her as hard as she could and turned around, not wanting to see Santana cry and wanting Santana to see her own tears.

The next couple months were hard for both of them. They couldn't make it through a single skype session without tears. About six months into her tour, Santana wasn't online at the agreed hour. She could only hope that she had gone into labor, that she had someone with her, and that everything would go well. Not being there for the birth of her own child was worse than saying goodbye to her wife and son had been.

When she finally got the news that they were now the parents of a baby girl, Nina – the girl's name they had agreed on before Brittany had left – she had cried so hard in relief that her bunkmates had thought something was terribly wrong.

Five months later Brittany was on a flight home. They had agreed that she would meet Santana at home, not wanting their big reunion to be at a crowded airport. A close friend would meet Brittany and take her home to her wife and children.

She had never been as anxious as when she rang that doorbell a couple of hours later. It felt weird ringing the bell of her own house, but it didn't feel right just walking in either. When Santana opened the door, within milliseconds they were in an embrace stronger than any previous embrace they had ever been in. Santana's legs were around her waist in an instant, and their lips couldn't get enough of each other.

When they were both too out of breath to keep kissing, Brittany put Santana down, keeping an arm wrapped around her protectively. "Come meet your daughter," Santana said, eyes sparkling. She pulled her into the nursery where their little girl was in her crib, wide awake. She had blonde hair, but big brown eyes stared back at Brittany.

The following morning, after reuniting with her black-haired, blue-eyed son, and sitting down for breakfast with her whole family, she had never felt so complete.


End file.
